surveys

Question 1

Priming

Answer 1

The sequence of questions may affect answers, because previous questions may drive a respondent to think more actively about (the topics of) further questions

Question 2

There are three solutions.

Answer 2

• Keep the sequence fixed.
  o So effects do not differ between respondents.
• Use more than one sequence.
  o To get an idea of the effect of the sequence.
• Randomise the sequence.
  o So effects for some respondents are offset by countereffects for others.

Question 3

As you will only learn what you ask, questions should be clear.
Three rules of thumb:

Answer 3

• Always bear in mind your research questions.
  o The questions for the self-completion questionnaire or structured interview should always be geared to answering you research questions.
• What do you want to know specifically?
  o Do you have a car?
  (What does ‘have’ mean?  Own? At your disposal?
• How would you answer?
  o Put yourself in the position of the respondent. Does it make sense to you yourself?

Question 4

Pilot study

Answer 4

A small-scale preliminary study conducted in order to evaluate feasibility, time, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research project. Try out the survey on some people first

Question 5

coding

Answer 5

answers have put into categories

Question 6

post-coding

Answer 6

This integrates open-ended responses and segregates them into a separate group in a planned manner to transform raw data into intelligent data. Respondents are being asked to assign themselves to a category that has already had a number assigned to it.
* Advantage, respondents have more freedom in what they answer.
* Disadvantage, intensive, time-consuming data-processing, and risk of low inter-rater reliability (disagreement over how to categorise).

Question 7

pre-coding.

Answer 7

The researcher designs a coding frame in advance by administering a survey instrument and often includes the pre-codes in the questionnaire.
* Advantage – there can be no dispute over how to categorise, because information comes in exactly as you like it; easy for both interviewers and respondents to complete and process because it doesn’t require extensive writing; and this enhances the comparability of answers.
* Disadvantage – there is a risk of omitting important categories and thus missing out on relevant information or nuances, a loss of spontaneity in respondents’ answers.

Question 8

Types of closed ended questions

Answer 8

1. Question
   Do you think Obama was a good president?
   A. Yes
   B. No
2. Finish the sentence.
   Obama was a…
   A. Good president.
   B. Bad president.
3. Statement.
   Obama was a good president.
   A. Agree.
   B. Disagree
4. Set of statements (Likert scale).
   A statement  Totally disagree, rather disagree, neither agree nor disagree, rather agree, totally agree.
5. Semantic differential.
   * Choosing between opposite adjectives.
   * An alternative to the Likert scale.
6. Rating
   Score on a scale.
   Rate Obama’s performance as president on a scale from 0 to 10.
7. Ranking
   Rank the following former presidents in order of your preference. 1 is most preferred, 5 is least preferred.

Question 9

Close-ended categories

Answer 9

 Answer categories should cover salient possibilities for the entire respondent group.
* Beware of omissions.
Which pet do you have?

A. Dog
B. Fish
C. Bird
D. Reptile
E. Other, specify…

• Right amount of detail
  What is your favourite music genre?
  Depends on the research question.
  But don’t puzzle/bore respondents.
• Select only one option or more options?
  But more options are harder to analyse.
   Single option preferable.
   If more options are necessary, restrict the maximum number.
• Answer categories should be clear.
  How often do you go to the cinema?

Don’t
A. Rarely.
B. Sometimes.
C. Often.
D. Very often.
Do
A. Less than once a year.
B. 1-5 times a year.
C. 6-10 times a year.
D. More than 10 times a year.

Question 10

• Reverse poling

Question 11

Types of research questions

Answer 11

1. Descriptive
    What are things like.
   o Characteristics
    Which things go together?
   o Associations between characteristics, typologies.

But often not so clear-cut.
 Probabilistic
o Which things tend to go together?

 Gradual
o To what extent?
E.g. What are the defining characteristics of museum visitors?

2. Causal
    What causes something?
    What is the effect of something?

But, often more complex.
 Multi-causality
o What are the causes, what are the effects of?
 Gradual
o To what extent does something cause?
 Probabilistic
o What generally causes?
E.g. Why do people go to museums.

3. Comparative
    What are the differences? Between cases, places, time periods.

But, often including.
 Descriptive
o In which respects do cases differ, in which respect are they similar.
 Causal
o How do causes differ?
 Probabilistic and gradual
o To what extent to they differ/ are they similar?
E.g. How do visitors of modern art museums differ from visitors of natural science museums?

4. Interpretive
    How are things? How can we make sense of reality?
   o Often qualitative.
   E.g. How do visitors of modern art museums experience the collection?

In any case;
* Often there is more than one question in one study or there is a main question with sub-questions.
* Various types of questions can be addressed in one study (descriptive, and comparative, and causal).
* Often research questions are not explicitly stated, but they are there.